Making Money Marketing

Another day, another honking big funding for another online start-up (and yet another broken embargo too!).

It’s like Groundhog Day in Silicon Valley as usual.

Today, Cambridge, Mass.-based HubSpot wins tech’s version of the lottery, grabbing $32 million from Sequoia Capital, Google Ventures and also Salesforce.com.

It is unclear what the valuation for HubSpot is now, although it is likely high given it has raised $65 million now.

HubSpot makes marketing software for businesses, who use it to find prospects and generate leads, along with tools to analyze the process. It claims it has “4,000 customers, over 50 percent market share, five million leads managed, and 70 million page views tracked monthly.”

The Series D financing included HubSpot’s existing venture investors–General Catalyst Partners, Matrix Partners, and Scale Venture Partners–and part of it will be used to cash out existing shareholders. In previous rounds, the start-up has raised $33 million.

Here is the official press release:

Sequoia, Google Ventures, and Salesforce.com Invest $32 Million in HubSpot

Marketing Software Company Attracts New Strategic Investors

CAMBRIDGE, MA–(Marketwire – March 8, 2011)–Today, for the first time ever, Sequoia Capital, Google Ventures and Salesforce.com all invested together in one company, providing HubSpot with a Series D round of financing through a $32 million investment. HubSpot provides all-in-one marketing software used by over 4,000 businesses to get found by more prospects, convert them into leads and sales, and analyze the entire marketing process.

“The fundamental way that people shop, learn, and buy has changed radically in the last few years. HubSpot helps transform the way businesses market from outbound marketing (cold calls, email blasts, and direct mail) to inbound marketing (Google, blogs, social media, mobile, etc.),” said Brian Halligan, co-founder and CEO of HubSpot.

Sequoia Capital has a long history of partnering with founders to help them build long-term, multi-billion dollar companies, including Google, LinkedIn, AdMob, YouTube, Yahoo!, Apple, and Oracle. “We back companies that are transforming their industries,” said Jim Goetz, General Partner at Sequoia Capital. “HubSpot is the emerging category leader in the SaaS marketing sector. Their customer base exceeds that of all the other relevant marketing software companies combined, including Eloqua, Marketo, Genius, and Manticore.”

“Today, every company needs to succeed in search, social, sales, and marketing–I can’t think of a more powerful trifecta than Google, Salesforce.com, and HubSpot. With 4,000 customers, HubSpot is already a clear marketing leader–now, with this new infusion of capital and recognition by Google’s venture arm and Salesforce.com, HubSpot has a great opportunity to separate itself from the pack and become the leading marketing platform in the small and medium business space,” said Brent Leary, co-founder of CRM Essentials.

Google Ventures Partner, Rich Miner (formerly co-founder of Android) said, “We agree with HubSpot’s belief that search engines, social media, and mobile devices have fundamentally changed how businesses should market themselves. We’re thrilled to support their efforts to help thousands of small and medium businesses reach potential customers.”

Dharmesh Shah, co-founder and CTO of HubSpot commented, “We founded the company based on a simple premise: Businesses want an easy-to-use, complete and integrated marketing platform that helps them get more leads and customers. We plan to use this new capital to further invest in this ambitious vision and further our existing lead in the marketing software category.”

Ryan Gavin and Dean Hachamovitch, Marketing Guy and Engineer, respectively, for Internet Explorer, have announced that the final build and release of Internet Explorer 9 will indeed be at the party they’re throwing at South by Southwest in Texas on March 14th, 2011. They’ve decided to first announce this to their very favorite community at Channel9, a bunch of developers who are in love with the internet platform, and they’ve spoken here in a video at length what the browser will be able to do.

This browser has been in production for approximately a year, and now they’re going to release it, thanking profusely the community of developers who have stepped up to help them in making this a platform that has a chance at competing with the rest of the powerhouse browsers out in the market today. As you know, Internet Explorer

Hachamovitch will be doing a keynote at MIX 10 as well, showing off how the platform is rolling out, as a sort of “look what we did in a year” sort of thing. These two fellas sitting on the couch are super excited about this rollout and after saying what they came to say, they made sure to prompt Channel9 for what they call an “uncomfortable question.” What Channel9 decided to ask about was HTML5, to which they reply “WE’RE FOR IT!”

Of course the developer community knows this already, so the question is pressed, beyond what HTML5 can do for the everyday user, what does IE9 offer the fringe users who want features that not everyone will use? Hachamovitch replies with a sort of well, we DO do that, we’ve implemented things like Navigation Timing which “got 0% usage on the web,” he then going on to say that they’ve added items that don’t just come from developers who request things, they’ve essentially come up with elements that they and people at Yahoo, Google, and etc have spoken about behind the scenes, bringing these “fringe” features into IE9 at launch.

Essentially what they’re speaking about in this video and what will be coming with Internet Explorer 9 is depth as well as quality implementation of features. We’re hoping for the best!

Surface Encounters

Source: Detroit Red Wings' Todd Bertuzzi won't face further league discipline for hit on Ryan Johnson of Chicago Blackhawks

Red Wings forward Todd Bertuzzi won't face any further league discipline after his elbowing penalty and game misconduct against Chicago Blackhawks forward Ryan Johnson, a source told ESPN.com Tuesday morning.

Surface Encounters

<b>News</b> FAIL - Epic Fail Funny Videos and Funny Pictures

Fox News is hard right heroine. They love pushing stories, even with only an ounce of truth and a pound of spin, to their audience. However, it is basically the only opposition voice people on the far right have besides talk radio. ...

Surface Encounters

Heavy Fire Afghanistan coming to Kinect Xbox 360 <b>News</b> - Page 1 <b>...</b>

Read our Xbox 360 news of Heavy Fire Afghanistan coming to Kinect.

Surface Encounters

Editor’s Note: Jim Dalrymple has been writing about Apple for more than 15 years. You can follow him on Twitter @jdalrymple and on his Web site at The Loop.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs on Wednesday introduced the iPad 2 at a special event in San Francisco, taking even more momentum away from its competitors.

I’ve had a lot of people in the last 24 hours tell me that the iPad 2 isn’t as revolutionary as the first generation device. Yes, that’s true. But not every device a company releases has to be or can be revolutionary.

Apple has released three revolutionary products in the last decade alone: iPod, iPhone and iPad. I really can’t think of any products from Apple’s competitors that fit in the revolutionary category in that same time period.

People also said that Apple wasn’t very forthcoming with the specs of the iPad 2. Again, that’s true, but there’s a good reason for that—nobody cares.

Well, some people care. Those of us who are geeks care about specs. However, have you ever noticed that when you sit with your non-geek friends and start listing off specs their eyes glaze over and they rest their chin in their hand.

That’s because they couldn’t care less.

The iPad 2 is no slouch either. It lost one-third of the thickness of the previous generation, and therefore it is one-third less than the size of the iPad competitors too. It also has new technologies like a gyro built-in that will launch another round of cool apps.

Yesterday’s iPad 2 announcement wasn’t about the geeks—it was about all the other people who will buy an iPad. What those people want to know is “what can I do with it?”

If it fits into their lifestyle, most people are good with that. Apple showed many ways how the iPad 2 can fit into your lifestyle.

From the very beginning, Apple was very smart with how it marketed the iPad. The first thing it did was get the device into businesses and promote the fact that it could be used to get work done. And it was quite successful with that.

In an analyst call in October 2010, Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer said the iPad was already being used in 65 percent of Fortune 100 companies. That was four months ago and the iPad has grown since then, so we can only imagine where that number is now.

This strategy allowed Apple to do two things. If it came out with the iPad and pushed the gaming capabilities of the device, the business world would have looked at it as a toy. That would have certainly meant slower adoption. It also allowed them to work on some consumer software, two of which we saw yesterday.

In addition to the iPad 2, Jobs also unveiled iMovie and GarageBand for the iPad. This is what people want to know about—what can I do with the iPad that’s exciting and new.

Obviously, creating movies and being able to edit and share them with friends and family is a very popular thing to do these days. iMovie makes that easy.

Creating music, whether a novice or pro is also a cool thing to do. GarageBand is a great app to get that done and you can move your projects to your Mac and continue working on them.

It’s not just about the hardware. Apple delivers the whole experience that nobody else can. Jobs said yesterday that there are 65,000 apps on its App Store specifically designed for the iPad. That’s a lot of things you can do.

If you think Apple’s competitors are jumping for joy because the iPad 2 isn’t revolutionary, I believe you are wrong. I think they’re scared. Yesterday, they figured out Apple’s strategy too, but a little too late.

Dirty Percent

Tuesday, 1 March 2011

It’s not hard to make the case that Apple’s new in-app subscription system offers numerous benefits to users, developers, and publishers. But whatever those benefits, they stem from the mere existence of these new subscription APIs. What’s controversial is the size of Apple’s cut: 30 percent.

No one is arguing that Apple shouldn’t get some cut of in-app purchases that go through iTunes. And, if Apple were taking a substantially smaller cut, there would be substantially fewer people objecting to Apple’s rules (that subscription-based publishing apps must use the system; that they can’t link to their external sign-up web page from within the app; and that they must offer in-app subscribers the same prices available outside the app).

The reasonable arguments against Apple’s policies seem to be:

• Apple should be taking less, perhaps far less, than 30 percent.




• Apple should not require subscription-based apps to use the in-app subscription APIs. If it’s a good deal for publishers, they’ll choose to use the system on their own.




• Apple should not require price-matching from subscription offers outside the app. Publishers should be allowed to charge iOS users more money to cover Apple’s cut.




• Apple should consider business models that simply can’t afford a 70/30 revenue split.

Let’s consider these in reverse order.

Apple Should Consider Business Models That Can’t Afford a 70/30 Revenue Split

Apple doesn’t give a damn about companies with business models that can’t afford a 70/30 split. Apple’s running a competitive business; competition is cold and hard. And who exactly can’t afford a 70/30 split? Middlemen. It’s not that Apple is opposed to middlemen — it’s that Apple wants to be the middleman. It’s difficult to expect them to be sympathetic to the plights of other middlemen.

Some of these apps and services that are left out might be ones that iOS users enjoy, though. This is the leading argument for how this new policy will in fact hurt users, and, as a result, Apple itself: it’ll drive good apps off the platform. Frequently mentioned examples: Netflix and Kindle. For all we know, though, Netflix may well be fine with this policy. Apple would only get a 30 percent cut of new subscriptions that go through the Netflix iOS app, and that might be a bounty Netflix can live with in exchange for more subscribers. Keep in mind, too, that Netflix and Apple seemingly get along well enough that Netflix is built into the Apple TV system software.

Kindle, and e-book platforms in general, are a different case. For one thing, Kindle doesn’t use subscriptions. Kindle offers purchases. Presumably, given Apple’s rejection of Sony’s e-book platform app last month, Apple is going to insist on the same rules for in-app purchases through apps like Kindle as they do for in-app subscriptions. If so, something’s got to give. The “agency model” through which e-books are sold requires the bookseller to give the publisher 70 percent of the sale price. So if the publisher gets 70 and Apple gets 30, that leaves a big fat nothing for Amazon, or Barnes & Noble, or Kobo, or anyone else selling books through native iOS apps — other than iBooks, of course.

But leaving aside the revenue split, there are technical limitations as well. The existing in-app purchasing system in iOS has a technical limit of 3,500 catalog items. I.e. any single app can offer no more than 3,500 items for in-app purchase. Amazon has hundreds of thousands of Kindle titles.

Something’s got to give here. I don’t know what, but there must be more news on this front coming soon. I don’t believe Apple wants to chase competing e-book platforms off the App Store.

Apple Should Not Require Price Matching

Why not allow developers and publishers to set their own prices for in-app subscriptions? One reason: Apple wants its customers to get the best price — and, to know that they’re getting the best price whenever they buy a subscription through an app. It’s a confidence in the brand thing: with Apple’s rules, users know they’re getting the best price, they know they’ll be able to unsubscribe easily, and they know their privacy is protected.

Credit card companies insist on similar rules: retailers pay a processing fee for every credit card transaction, but the credit card companies insist that these fees not be passed on to the customer. Customers pay the same price as they would if they used cash — which encourages them to use their credit card liberally. (Going further, many charge cards offer cash back on each purchase — they can do this because the cash-back percentage refunded to the customer is less than the transaction processing fee paid by the retailer.)

So the same-price rule is good for the user, and good for Apple. But Matt Drance argues that Apple could dissipate much of this subscription controversy by waiving this rule:

The requirement that IAP content be offered “at the same price
or less than it is offered outside the app,” combined with the
70/30 split, means developers must make less money off of iOS by
definition. They can’t price their IAP content higher to offset
the commission, nor can they price their own retail content lower.

If I am interpreting this correctly, I can’t bring myself to see
it as reasonable. […] I think a great deal of this drama could
go away if Apple dropped section 11.13 while keeping section
11.14: Your prices on your store are your business; just don’t
be a jerk and advertise the difference all over ours.

And I agree with him. Yes, the same-price rule is good for users and for Apple, but waiving this rule wouldn’t be particularly bad for users or for Apple, either — and it would give publishers some freedom to experiment.

I suspect one reason Apple won’t budge is that their competitors — like Amazon — insist on best-price matching.

Apple Should Not Require Apps to Offer In-App Subscriptions

I’m sympathetic to this argument, too. “If you don’t like our terms, don’t use our subscription system.” But it has occurred to me that this entire in-app subscription debate mirrors the debate surrounding the App Store itself back in 2008 — that 30 percent was too large a cut for Apple to take, that it shouldn’t be mandatory, etc. The same way many developers wanted (and still want) a way to sell native iOS apps on their own, outside the App Store, many publishers now want a way to sell subscriptions on their own, outside the App Store.

The fact is, the App Store is an all-or-nothing affair. You play by Apple’s rules or you stick to web apps through Mobile Safari. This alternative is no different for periodical publishers than it was (and remains) for app developers in general. A lot of these demands boil down to a desire for more autonomy for native iOS app developers. Apple has never shown any interest in that.

There’s one striking difference between the subscription controversy today and the App Store controversy in 2008: with subscriptions, Apple is taking away the ability to do something that they previously allowed. There was never a supported way to install native apps for iOS before the App Store. Subscriptions sold outside the App Store, on the other hand, were allowed until last month.

Apple Should Be Taking Less, Possibly Far Less, Than 30 Percent

Another difference between the App Store itself and in-app subscriptions is that with apps, Apple hosts and serves the downloads. Apple covers the bandwidth, even for gargantuan gigabyte-or-larger 99-cent games. The OS handles installation.

With in-app subscriptions (and purchases), however, the app developer is responsible for hosting the content, and for writing the code to download, store, and manage it. So — one reasonable argument goes — given that Apple is doing less for subscription content than it does for apps (or for music and movies purchased through iTunes), Apple should take less of the money.

Taken further, the argument boils down to this: that for in-app subscriptions and purchases, Apple is serving only as a payment processer — and thus, a reasonable fee for transactions would be in the small single digits — 3, 4, maybe 5 percent, say. More or less something along the lines of what PayPal charges.

Apple, I think it’s clear, doesn’t see it this way. Apple sees the entire App Store, along with all native iOS apps, as an upscale, premium software store: owned, controlled, and managed like a physical shopping mall. Brick and mortar retailers don’t settle for a single-digit cut of retail prices; neither does the App Store.

Seth Godin argues that Apple’s 30 percent cut is too big to allow publishers to profit:

Except Apple has announced that they want to tax each subscription
made via the iPad at 30%. Yes, it’s a tax, because what it does is
dramatically decrease the incremental revenue from each
subscriber. An intelligent publisher only has two choices: raise
the price (punishing the reader and further cutting down
readership) or make it free and hope for mass (see my point above
about the infinite newsstand). When you make it free, it’s all
about the ads, and if you don’t reach tens or hundreds of
thousands of subscribers, you’ll fail.

Godin’s logic strikes me as questionable. For one thing, he freely switches between a newsstand metaphor (arguing, perhaps accurately, that the App Store is too large for publishers to gain attention from potential readers in the first place — you won’t read what you never notice) and the economics of subscriptions. But subscribers are the opposite of newsstand readers. Newsstand readers are buying a single copy, often on impulse. Subscribers are readers who are already hooked, and who know what they want. Put another way, the size of Apple’s cut of subscription revenue — whether it were higher or lower — has no bearing on the “attention at the newsstand” problem.

Second, the problem facing traditional publishers today is that circulation is falling. Newsstand sales and subscriptions are falling, under pressure from free-of-charge websites and other forms of digital content. The idea with Apple’s 70-30 revenue split is that developers and publishers can make it up in volume — that people aren’t just somewhat more willing to pay for content through iTunes than other online content stores, they are far more willing. The idea is that Apple has cracked a nut no one else1 has — they’ve created an ecosystem where hundreds of millions of people are willing to pay for digital content. Thus, potentially, publishers won’t just make more money keeping only 70 percent of subscription fees generated through iOS apps than they are now with 96 percent (or whatever they’re left with after payment processing fees) of subscription fees they’re selling on their own — they stand to make a lot more money.

I’m not guaranteeing or even predicting that it’s going to work out that way. I’m just saying that’s Apple’s proposition.

Godin’s assumption is that iOS in-app subscriptions won’t significantly increase the number of subscribers. If he’s right about that, then he’s right that Apple’s 30 percent cut will prove too expensive for publishers. But Apple’s bet is that in-app subscriptions can dramatically increase the number of subscribers. Consider the app landscape. Apple’s 30 percent cut didn’t drive the price of paid apps up — the nature of the App Store drove prices down. It’s a volume game.

The App Store itself proves that Apple might be right. Like with app sales, in-app subscriptions won’t work for every publication. But it could work for many. It really is possible to make it up in volume.

And if a 70-30 split for in-app subscription revenue doesn’t work, the price will come down. That’s how capitalism works. You choose a price and see how it goes. I’ll admit — when the App Store launched in 2008, I thought Apple’s 70-30 split was skewed too heavily in Apple’s favor. Not that it was wrong in any moral sense, but that it was wrong in a purely economic sense: that it might be more than developers would be willing to bear. Apple, clearly, has a better sense about what prices the market will bear than I (and, likely, you) do.

Competition vs. Anti-Competition

One last argument I’ve seen regarding these in-app subscription rules is that it’s further evidence of anti-competitive behavior from Apple. That makes sense only if you consider iOS to be the entire field of play. Apple, though, is competing at a higher level. They’re competing between platforms: iOS vs. Kindle/Amazon vs. Android/Google vs. Microsoft, and in some ways, vs. the free web. Why should publishers make an app rather than just a mobile web site? For happier customers and more money.

Sony has a platform for e-books. Amazon has a platform for e-books. Barnes & Noble has a platform for e-books. Apple has a platform for e-books. But Apple is the only one which allows its competitors to have apps on its devices. And Apple is the anti-competitive one? I’m no lawyer, but if the iTunes Music store hasn’t yet been deemed a monopoly with Apple selling 70+ percent of digital music players, then I doubt the App Store will be deemed a monopoly for a market where Apple has never been — and, according to market share trends, may never be — the top-selling smartphone maker, let alone own a majority of the market, let alone own more than a single-digit sliver of the phone market as a whole. As for ruthless profiteering, consider that Amazon, with their e-book publishing, originally took the fat end of a 70-30 revenue split with authors.

One question I’ve been asked by several DF readers who object to Apple’s new in-app subscription and purchasing policies goes like this: What if Microsoft did this with Windows, and, say, tried to require Apple to pay them 30 percent for every purchase made through iTunes on Windows? To that, I say: good luck with that. Microsoft couldn’t make such a change by fiat. The whole premise of Windows (and other personal computer systems) is that it is open to third-party software. Apple couldn’t just flip a switch and make Mac OS X a controlled app console system like iOS — they had to introduce the Mac App Store as an alternative to traditional software installation. If Microsoft introduced something similar to the Mac App Store for Windows, Apple would simply eschew it. If Microsoft were to mandate an iOS App Store-like total control policy for all Windows software, they’d have a revolt in their user base that would make Vista look like a success.

iOS isn’t and never was an open computer system. It’s a closed, controlled console system — more akin to Playstation or Wii or Xbox than to Mac OS X or Windows. It is, in Apple’s view, a privilege to have a native iOS app.

This is what galls some: Apple is doing this because they can, and no other company is in a position to do it. This is not a fear that in-app subscriptions will fail because Apple’s 30 percent slice is too high, but rather that in-app subscriptions will succeed despite Apple’s (in their minds) egregious profiteering. I.e. that charging what the market will bear is somehow unscrupulous. To the charge that Apple Inc. is a for-profit corporation run by staunch capitalists, I say, “Duh”.

If it works, Apple’s 30-percent take of in-app subscriptions will prove as objectionable in the long run as the App Store itself: not very.

Surface Encounters

Surface Encounters

Preview of Final Result

 

Resources

• PT Sans Bold – FontSquirrel


• Free App Icons for Developers – WebAppers

Step 1

Open Photoshop and create a new document that is 1200 x 1200 pixels, 72 dpi, and RGB Color. Fill the layer with white. (Ctrl+Backspace or Delete)

Step 2

Now create a rectangle for the header and fill it with a white-grey color, then use the colors on the image for the “Gradient Overlay”. Our search and logo will eventually be part of the header.

Step 3

Create a new rectangle above the previous one, with attributes as shown below. The following drop shadow effect creates a look of a 1 pixel stroke which does increase the look of that simple bar. Note: this step creates a horizontal line.

 

Step 4

Now add the “Gradient Overlay” layer style with the hex codes indicated.

Step 5

Add a white 1 pixel stroke. The following stroke of 1 pixel will divide the grey shadow effect. It’ll eventually work as a divider.

Step 6

Make one more rectangle in the middle-right zone, and fill it with white and add a 1 px stroke as indicated – it will be our search box.

Step 7

One more rectangle should be created and filled with blue. Set the inner shadow as indicated below, this will be our search button. This blue works great in combination with grey, white and light-grey. Blue will be the major contrasting color we use as we work through this template.

Step 8

Add the Gradient Overlay details to the button with the details from image.

Step 9

Add a 1 px stroke to the button with the color indicated. Take a look at the first and the final result of the button so you can see the difference all these details made.

Step 10

Now add this drop shadow effect for the text placed in the search box, using PT Sans Bold. This will be the final step in creating your search button. You may want to try other fonts, but the PT Sans Bold is really good for this small button.

Step 11

Make another fill under the header section, this will be the navigation area. Here we will place the navigation links of our template.

Step 12

Write your navigation links using a dark-grey color, then add a white “drop shadow” effect. The effect used for the navigation links is the same used for the search button.

Step 13

With 1px vertical line, make divisions between each links. The lines should be black and will really increase the beauty of the navigation area.

Step 14

Over the home section, make a fill with the blue and then add a Gradient Overlay style as indicated.

Step 15

Copy the Home link, this time color it white and add a drop shadow effect.

Step 16

Create a big, grey zone under the navigation, it should be about 30% of the layout. This will be the background for the featured area.

Step 17

Now create a big, white rectangle and add some shadow with the details shown. A big stock image, a big headline and some text with another great button will be added.

Step 18

Add a any dummy image you want to that featured area. Be sure it covers more than 80% of the area. The one I chose is from a stock website.

Step 19

Add some text to it, use the PT SANS Bold font and make the font big.

Step 20

The remaining area should be filled with grey, in it we’ll place some text. This is really a secondary area which describes the image, the services, the company itself, or whatever you’d like.

Step 21

Place some blue-colored text which will be the title of the information below. Use the details in the image for Drop Shadow style.

Step 22

Add some dummy text. This could be some important information or whatever you’d like.

Step 23

Create another grey area under the featured zone, where we will add some text and icons later. Add the details as stated on the image. Mostly, the icons will promote the services offered by the company behind the website.

Step 24

Continue by adding a Gradient Overlay style for the last rectangle we have created in the anterior steps.

Step 25

Now we are adding titles and icons, as well as some divisions. The icons can be found in the resource list at the beginning of the tutorial. Be sure to choose your icons and text thoughtfully.

Step 26

At the border of both zones, create a small circle and fill it with dark brown color. Add some inner shadow as stated on the image.

Step 27

Continue by adding a drop shadow layer style. It is another small detail, but it really makes that button zone minimalistic, nice-looking and well designed.

Step 28

To finish, add a Gradient Overlay effect.

Step 29

By using the Custom Shape Tool (U), create an arrow in both circles. Now add the details shown on the screenshot.

Step 30

Continue by adding some Color Overlay for the arrow. It should also be a blue color because otherwise, it will not fit the contrast and the colors used on the whole template.

Step 31

Add a video screenshot in the free space and place a title for it. For this template, I have used a simple screenshot of a YouTube widget.

Step 32

Add the text “Product Highlights” and “Case Studies.” Let the text under the “Product Highlights” be links so you could showcase some friends’ websites or resources you admire/promote.

Step 33

Finish it by creating another form for e-mails, place all kind of other information, and whatever you’d like.

Step 34

Don’t forget to make a relevant/small footer for our template. If you have paid attention, you should know how to create the same effect as below. 

 

All done! If you have questions or suggestions, feel free to drop a comment. I hope you enjoyed this whole tutorial!

Surface Encounters

This Week&#39;s Health Industry <b>News</b> - NYTimes.com

A look at what's coming up in the drug and health fields.

Surface Encounters

Surface Encounters

Surface Encounters

Heavy Fire Afghanistan coming to Kinect Xbox 360 <b>News</b> - Page 1 <b>...</b>

Read our Xbox 360 news of Heavy Fire Afghanistan coming to Kinect.

Surface Encounters

foreclosure list

American Banker has posted the 27 page draft servicer settlement agreement that the state attorneys general sent to the servicers last week.



Settlement Terms (27 page PDF)



And from Cheyenne Hopkins at American Banker: Cheat Sheet: How the State AGs Want to Revamp Mortgage Servicing

The 27-page term sheet handed to the five largest mortgage servicers last week is a detailed, dense list of requirements that, if implemented as proposed, would fundamentally change the relationship between servicers, investors and borrowers.



The term sheet, obtained by American Banker and available here, is just the opening bid in an ongoing negotiating process between the servicers and various state and federal agencies attempting to punish them for significant issues uncovered in the foreclosure process. While some of the details of the term sheet have been made public already, the sheer breadth and depth of the proposed requirements were not clear until now.

The article has a nice summary of the document.

Submitted by MacroStory.com

Banks Face Renewed Headwinds

In the fall of 2010, there was no shortage of news regarding faulty foreclosure processes, aka "robo-signing."  Bank stocks took a hit and the threat of a nationwide foreclosure moratorium appeared imminent.  Then came  the concept of put back risk to the big banks claiming violations of reps and warranty agreements or pooling and servicing agreements (PSAs). Since that time the media has gone rather quiet on the subject and the price action in the bank stocks would imply all is well.  BAC settled for pennies on the dollar with one of the GSEs and the stock rocketed that very day as investors were no longer "worried about the uncertainty." 

The story may have gone cold but the lawsuits, court rulings, class actions, investigations have only heated up and continue to grow.  In fact they have grown to the point where keeping up with all of it was next to impossible.  Banks have tried to downplay any of these threats in their most recent earnings releases and conference calls but suddenly things seem to have changed.  Recent SEC filings by JPM, earnings restatements by BAC, a quick departure of Howard Atkins from WFC and regulators investigating CDO transactions by C have begun to turn the spotlight back to the banks and the balance sheet risk they face.

MERS was recently sued by a small county in Massachusetts for $22 million for failure to pay recording fees.  This is just one small county in one state.  The warning shot has been fired. States face hundreds of billions in budget gaps.  States have been defrauded of legal recording fees by MERS who will argue their electronic system of registration was a more efficient process in a fast moving mortgage market.  MERS was created by the real estate finance industry (per their website) and should these floodgates open, the banks who used MERS to transfer mortgages may ultimately be liable.

"Citigroup, the third-largest U.S. bank by assets, also said U.S. regulators are examining how it structured and sold collateralized debt obligations as part of an investigation into mortgage-related businesses." - Bloomberg

The Obama administration as part of the ongoing 50 attorneys general investigation of robo signing is proposing a $20 billion settlement whereas proceeds will be used for principal reductions for those underwater in their mortgages.  The banks / servicers involved in the suit will not be able to push those writedowns to the holder of the RMBS and will also have to adjust their second tier liens.  So this settlement has three strikes.  Strike 1, homeowners will still default.  Strike 2, banks will take an immediate $20 billion hit to their balance sheet. Strike 3, the second tier lien writedowns will force additional capital raises.

Bank of America is in the largest class action suit right now.  It started at $46 billion when PIMCO, NY Fed, etc claimed reps and warranty violations.  That has now grown to $84 billion as more investors have joined a clearing house to overcome the 25% threshold level required to initiate such a request.  Months back when this first surfaced, CEO Brian Moynihan argued the process of resolving put backs would be long and litigious.  He said BAC would fight loan by loan.  He was wrong.  A recent ruling has set precedence for put back requests to now use statistical sampling to simplify the process of declaring judgment.

Of all these headwinds two by far still stand out, not for their sheer size but for their outcome does not involve a government agency where a slap on the wrist, pennies on the dollar fine is awarded.  The private label put back and falling home prices in the face of a rising interest rate environment and rising unemployment (that's if you include the growing list of those disgusted and leaving the work force) are as close to a free market as we have in our society today.

bench craft company reviews

Small Business <b>News</b>: Creative Marketing Secrets

Marketing for your small business can be part art/part science. But however you would describe it, it is the key to both getting new customers and keeping the.

Key 2008 Aide Back with Romney - FoxNews.com

Mitt Romney's Free and Strong America PAC announced Monday that his chief domestic adviser in his 2008 presidential bid has returned to join his PAC as policy director, another apparent building block for Romney's likely entry in the ...

American Apparel “Shake Down” Continues: Internet Smear Campaign <b>...</b>

According to the Daily News, Irene Morales' suit says that Charney “forced her to go down on her knees just inside the front door and perform fellatio upon him,” and “[s]he was then, to all intents and purposes, held prisoner in the ...

Search engine optimization Vancouver For A Better Marketing Solution

 

When you begin your personal website there are many ways you will have to market it and one the best way is by using SEO services Vancouver if you happen to be in that area. The SEO or seo services will be the top method of getting more traffic to your site and for that reason making more sales.

 

Now, you should know that you will not use SEO service if you're not an internet business - however, if you do not have an online presence if you are an offline business, then you'll not allow it to be very far.

 

It is a popular proven fact that if you are going to really make it in the offline world you must have an online business. This really is something that all people are learning hard way. Something that you ought to also know is the fact that it is not as easy as just establishing the website and leaving it to complete its things.

 

You can do this in most types of ways, but these companies usually make use of multiple methods to create an ideal marketing technique online. It is possible to employ them to write articles for you personally, post on forums and blogs, create meta data and meta descriptions, cleanup the code, add alt tags towards the images and much more.

 

It is crucial that you do this because otherwise the company you have worked so hard for could end up losing all the money. If you have a website that you want to create, then you will also employ the expertise of a search engine optimization company, which stands for seo company. What the corporation does is actually go ahead and take best areas of your website, check the code, create keywords and write various articles and documents to ensure your website is placed close to the top of the list for that major search engines like google.

As a result the Search engine optimization company cannot only increase your traffic, but additionally make sure that your site is fully optimized for the search engine spiders that will be brought to it. These spiders are used to analyze your site and put it in certain positions determined on certain keywords.

 

If you wish to use the SEO services Vancouver then all you've got to complete is discover the top companies. It's through these that the SEO gets done effectively and efficiently. With so many SEO companies to select from you have to be sure that the main one you are going for is reliable. You ought to be in a position to request a breakdown of what you want, and also the company should also be able to let you know know long they have been operating for. This can narrow down their email list to reveal the very best ones.

 

Search engine optimization Offered by Different Vancouver Web Companies

The Vancouver SEO company services are very good for business growth as they provide quality services. If you are planning to create a website for your online business, then you have come to right article when i is going to be explaining below how Web optimization Vancouver company services can increase your website ranking making it popular.

Before that, you should know what Search Engine Optimization is. It is not that complicated and i am sure you will get a grasp of it after reading my article. The main goal of SEO is to have more traffic aimed at your website and audience. It is a good decision to choose a Vancouver SEO company that specializes in this sort of work, so that your website could be listed in search engines.

There isn't any reason for you having a website with no website ranking whatsoever as you won't get any business and profits to outlive. It's a very tough atmosphere out there because there are a lot of internet business people just like you, who desire their share of pie. You must be familiar with the fact that nearly 85% of web traffic could be got from web sites.

Whenever a user types in a keyword or keywords for what he/she wants to know in various sites, these use crawlers to get web sites using the relevant content and index them based on algorithms. It's not necessary to worry about the algorithms which these sites use as that isn't important.

To appear in the first page from the search result, you will need to hire professionals and experts who can do the needful to keep your site one of the good books during these websites. These professionals can optimize your website content to ensure your site gets more traffic.

When the traffic gets high, it is a sign that you are getting a service that will enable you to get more revenues. SEO Vancouver company do the following to create your website appear within the first page of search engine results.

Use keywords which are popularly used on search engines like google in your website content.
Possess a web design for the website which is simple because top sites are allergic to flash and weird designs.
Submit your site to directories.
Submit your site to directory websites.
Postings on blogs and forums with back-links for your websites. This really is regarded as a very effective way to get increased traffic aimed at your website as numerous internet users use blogs and forums.

SEO Vancouver company also perform site diagnostics which is a significant part in online optimization as research and analysis on finding keywords may be the way to begin a SEO campaign. So, be sure you select the right SEO Vancouver service company.

Are you looking for more info regarding SEO Vancouver? Visit http://www.seo4vancouver.com/seo-services.asp today!

 

What to Expect Whenever Hiring a Roofing Contractors

When the time comes to repair or replace your roof, it's really a daunting task to locate someone who is actually qualified to do the job. There are lots of roofers available, but the types who will do a great job for any reasonable price aren't often easy to find. If you're in the marketplace for the service provider, make use of the ideas beneath with regard to meeting with and hiring the right one.

Interview as well as Consultation

The majority of roofers provide free consultations. This is especially important, because it provides them a chance to assess exactly what your roof needs, and it gives you an opportunity to evaluate them. As with all businesses, trust your instincts concerning the individuals you allow up on your roofing. No issue exactly how great a contractor's reputation or recommendation, he or she should start by showing you having a company card. If the contractor occurs searching and speaking within an unprofessional method, chances are that the task he's going to perform may also be less than professional. This is not to say that you should anticipate contractors to arrive within suits. They is going to be climbing on your roof, so the majority of is going to be dressed in denim jeans and work footwear or sneakers. If the actual service provider seems to be more interested in speaking upon his mobile phone while on your roof compared to he is within evaluating your own roof's needs, which may be an additional indication that he's not the main one for the job. For your lawful safety, make sure that the contractor has adequate liability insurance coverage.

Roofing Evaluation

Expect that the service provider is going to be rising on your roofing. In fact, any contractor who does not want to go up on your roofing to judge the issue should be instantly discounted. Those who're serious about their work may possibly create a drawing of the roof's surface area as well as mark problem areas onto it as they go through their evaluation, or they'll take photos or video from the surface area while they're available online for. This is a very essential step, since it enables you to observe just what the problems are and understand how they'll be fixed.

Estimation

The next step would be the created estimate. The contractor will require out his loan calculator and come up with an itemized estimation. Some contractors will go to their truck or van and write down the actual proposal, while some will crisis the actual amounts to do the job in front of you. Once you're given the suggestion, make sure that you comprehend which items will be used, just how long the task will require and if you will find any extra or hidden costs that could arise throughout the restore of the roof. The service provider should be able to solution all of these questions with ease as well as forewarn you associated with a extra costs that could be incurred if the roof's integrity end up being damaged inside.

After you have obtained a few created estimates from roofers, assess what every company or contractor is willing to provide for that cost. Do not always low cost the greatest bid, simply because occasionally the highest bet will in reality function as the contractor who the task properly. Additionally, be skeptical of bids which are not nearly as expensive others. They may be using inferior items or be unethical about the possibility of hidden expenses. Above all, believe in intuition and opt for the actual contractor that makes you feel most comfortable regarding giving more than your money.

 

Seven Uyghurs Sentenced to Death

2011-03-23

Critics of the sentences say China has politicized the robberies as acts of terrorism.

 

AFP

A Uyghur man walks past armed Chinese security forces in Urumqi, July 17, 2009.

Chinese authorities in the northwestern region of Xinjiang have ordered the executions of seven ethnic minority Uyghur men convicted of "violent" crimes, official media said on Wednesday.

 

The death sentences were handed down by the Supreme People's Court in recent days, according to state media in the regional capital, Urumqi.

 

The men were accused in connection with three separate attacks late last year in the Silk Road city of Kashgar, according to the news website Urumqi Online.

 

According to another website, the Xinjiang-based Tianshan news site, Aimaiti Tuheti, Yiming Dawuti, and unnamed "others" killed a security guard at a pedestrian mall as part of a failed Aug. 7 robbery attempt.

 

In a separate incident on Oct. 12, it said, Nuermaimaiti Aobulikasimu and 11 others broke into a house, bound and killed the couple living in it, and took their possessions.

 

It said the group also broke into the homes of two brothers, robbed them, and killed six people in a Nov. 11 attack in Kashgar.

 

The report gave no information about the victims or the schedule for the executions.

 

Three of the men were sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, a sentence that is normally commuted to life imprisonment in China's judicial system.

 

They were convicted of deliberate homicide and armed robbery by the Kashgar Intermediate People's Court in the first instance.

 

'Strike hard' campaign

 

A Han Chinese resident of Urumqi surnamed Yang said a reference to "terrorism" in official news reports on the case showed that it was being politicized by the authorities, who have launched a series of "strike hard" campaigns in Xinjiang following deadly ethnic violence in July 2009.

 

"There is an implied political meaning; that they were somehow engaged in separatist activities or ethnic divisions," said Yang.

 

Exile Uyghur groups said the trials had been conducted behind closed doors, with scant opportunity for public scrutiny.

 

"The entire process against these men, from the trial through to the judgment, was opaque," said Dilxat Raxit, spokesman for the Munich-based World Uyghur Congress.

 

"There was also very little reasonable evidence to convict them on a legal basis, because all the evidence came from one side of the case," he said.

 

"We strongly condemn the Chinese government for continuing to pursue their policies of ethnic division," said Raxit.

 

"We are also strongly opposed to the death penalty in this case."

 

Earlier cases

 

Last month, the Supreme Court sentenced four Uyghurs to death for alleged involvement in an Aug. 19 bomb attack in Xinjiang’s western Aksu city.

 

The World Uyghur Congress pointed to concerns over lack of transparency in those cases too.

 

The Aksu blast left eight people dead, including two of the bombers, and 15 wounded after a man riding a three-wheeled vehicle threw explosives at a group of uniformed patrolmen. Four Uyghurs were arrested shortly after the attack.

 

State media characterized the cases as acts of terrorism and unrelated to longstanding ethnic tensions between Uyghurs and Han Chinese in the region.

 

Exiled Uyghur dissident Rebiya Kadeer has warned that attacks like those in Aksu will continue to occur until Beijing addresses the underlying source of tension in the region.

 

Millions of Uyghurs—a distinct, Turkic minority who are predominantly Muslim—populate Central Asia and Xinjiang.

 

Uyghurs say they have long suffered ethnic discrimination, oppressive religious controls, and continued poverty and joblessness despite China's ambitious plans to develop its vast northwestern frontier.

 

Those frustrations erupted in July 2009 in deadly riots that left nearly 200 people dead, by the Chinese government's tally.

 

At least 26 people, mostly Uyghurs, were sentenced to death in the aftermath of the riots, many of whom have been executed, according to state media.

 

China is believed to execute more people each year than the rest of the world’s countries combined, although the government does not publish official figures.

 

Rights groups say Beijing may execute as many as several thousand prisoners annually.

 

Chinese authorities blame Uyghur separatists for a series of deadly attacks in recent years and accuse one group in particular of maintaining ties to the al-Qaeda terrorist network.

 

New training scheme

 

China on Wednesday also announced a training scheme which places ethnic minority graduates from Xinjiang in work elsewhere in China.

 

Governments of the destination cities will spend 450 million yuan (U.S.$ 69 million) for the program, while Xinjiang will spend 400 million yuan (U.S.$ 61 million), the official Xinhua news agency reported.

 

The program targets some 60,000 jobless college graduates in Xinjiang, around 80 percent of whom are from ethnic minorities, and 60 percent of whom are women.

 

However, some commentators see the move as an attempt to assimilate non-Han Chinese into mainstream Chinese culture.

 

"From the point of view of ethnic minorities, the graduate work scheme is really taking the cream of youth from the minorities and using them to 'further cultural development,'" wrote one ethnic minority user on a popular microblogging service.

 

"In fact, the culture that is being advanced is Han culture, and this group of young people will have been totally brainwashed," the microblog update said.

 

An Urumqi resident surnamed Li agreed.

 

"They have run senior high school schemes like this before during the past few years," he said.

 

"Whether it's high-schoolers or graduate training programs, these are measures that are aimed at thought control and brainwashing, and the 'Partification' of their education," he said.

 

Reported by Qiao Long for RFA's Mandarin service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.

Copyright © 1998-2011 Radio Free Asia. All rights reserved.

 

Wikileaks and also the Uyghurs

through holly on Dec 20, 2010
Henryk Szadziewski, Manager, Uyghur Human Rights Project

Whether it had been actually in doubt, info acquired through the whistleblower web site, Wikileaks, offers verified Chinese language government worries over it's ongoing charge of the location it calls Xinjiang, which is also referred to as Eastern Turkestan. The leaked out cables through U.Utes. diplomats demonstrate the degree that Chinese language authorities attempt to persuade government authorities worldwide to consider it's position upon problems affecting Uyghurs. The wires additionally display the United States' concerns and views concerning the on going repressive steps in the region.

Most lighting associated with Chinese federal government stress would be the wires pointing to Chinese frustration, or the specter of Chinese language ire, within the release of Uyghur detainees in Guantánamo to third nations. A December 29, 2008 cable applies exactly how Chinese Assistant Foreign Reverend Liu Jieyi met using the U.Utes. Ambassador in order to China to tone of voice Beijing's strong competitors of release in order to any country apart from The far east, and that if the Ough.Utes. do certainly accede for this ask for it would "avoid harm to bilateral relations and also to cooperation ‘in essential areas'". Furthermore, the February '09 cable describes how the Chinese language Ambassador in order to Kyrgyzstan, Zhang Yannian, regarded the possible release of Uyghur Guantánamo detainees as "an unfavorable act towards us" along with a "slap in the face". That the U.S. federal government stood firm in not really releasing the actual detainees to China demonstrates the actual degree from the politicized character of the Chinese judicial system. Genuine concerns more than terrorism are easy to understand, however in the U.S. government's view the detainees would probably face torture as well as execution if they returned to China

Chinese federal government stress regarding the actual Uyghur Guantánamo detainees wasn't just put on the U.S. government, but also to Brand new Zealand along with a number of Western government authorities that were thinking about resettlement. Albania, Indonesia as well as Finland, as well as Eu member states all appear to have borne the brunt associated with Chinese language government unhappiness. In the case of Indonesia, which was initially prepared to consider two Uyghurs on purely relief grounds, Uyghur Guantánamo cases were much less better than additional detainees because of the negative effects accepting Uyghurs might have on relationships along with China. The Might 8, 2009 cable television relates how "German Ambassador Michael Schaefer reported which Indonesia experienced informed The far east from the U.S. request to simply accept a few Uighur detainees held from Guantánamo and had been subsequently warned through China of ‘a heavy load on bilateral relations' in the event that Indonesia were to accept any kind of detainees".

The actual diplomatic cables also talk about the actual unrest in Urumchi, the actual local capital, within This summer '09. A July 13, '09 cable television discussing mass incidents in The far east says:

"Ethnic riots such as those who work in Xinjiang July 5-7 as well as in Tibet within 03 associated with 08 vary substantially within source as well as character from bulk incidents, XXXXXXXXXXXX stressed to PolOff [Political Officer] on XXXXXXXXXXXX. Both existing severe problems for the actual Celebration, XXXXXXXXXXXX said, however the Celebration leadership would not wait to open fireplace upon Uighurs or even Tibetans when they considered it essential to recover order. Mass incidents present another kind of threat, he explained, as the leadership is actually ‘afraid' to fire on Han rioters with regard to fear of causing massive public outrage that will change from the Party."

This is a relaxing opinion, especially when one considers evidence presented in two reviews launched this season by the Uyghur Individual Privileges Project (UHRP) and Amnesty Worldwide which detail eyewitness accounts from the use of deadly reside fire against Uyghur protestors within July '09. Additionally, the actual observation which fireplace would not be used against Han Chinese protestors has resonances for the various strategy taken by Chinese protection causes in Urumchi to Han Chinese direct orders in September 2009. Throughout individuals protests, then Party Assistant, Wang Lequan, tackled demonstrators, who had demanded he let them know about federal government reactions to security concerns. An identical ask for to meet with the Celebration Assistant by Uyghur demonstrators within This summer was not met.

The wider repercussions of the unrest additionally saw a short discussion on the impact it would possess on Iran-China relations, as well as on relationships with Sydney after Globe Uyghur Congress Leader, Ms. Rebiya Kadeer, spoke in the National Push Membership in Canberra in August 2009. In the second option case, the Chinese federal government "privately warn[ed] a significant Aussie bank which vendors the National Press Club to use it's influence to block a Kadeer speech there".

The actual United States' issues concerning the situation in the Uyghur area are available through within the wires. Inside a dialogue on policy path in Tibet, U.Utes. officials explain that it'll be impossible for Chinese language frontrunners to consider a much softer collection "if they look like they are doing this below international pressure". The actual cable out dated 04 16, 2008, 30 days following the outbreak of unrest within Tibetan areas, also relayed the actual observation "that domestic balance continues to be leadership's main concern most of all, which means there will ‘almost surely' be absolutely no relaxation of the current difficult collection on Tibet or perhaps in places such as Xinjiang." The information included in the cable also sheds gentle on the extreme level of sensitivity with which china government sights territorial ethics, and the possible drip over of unrest from Tibet.

The chance of solutions to stress within Tibet and Xinjiang as a result of civil society are debated in a February Twenty-four, 08 cable television. While recommending which China's financial achievement increases it's resistance to democratic reform, the cable also discusses exactly how Chinese language leaders begin to see the effectiveness of "a limited growth of civil culture, such as improvements in the guideline of law and a more powerful part with regard to approved religions, NGOs, non profit organizations and other stars within places which bring about social balance and don't problem Communist Party rule." This is a notable alternation in considering, which has seen U.Utes. officials market the idea that Chinese financial development, and financial relationships with The far east brings about a steadily democratic society; however, much more belief appears to be put into the grassroots motion than one that begins in the best levels of the Chinese language government. Nevertheless, the cable television concludes that "[i]n places for example Tibet as well as Xinjiang, the fear of separatism leads to tighter restrictions on the growth of municipal society." This approach is viewed as counter-productive through the official, that suggests that the Ough.S. government "should continue to express...serious issues more than Beijing's individual rights record and appeal to China's growing awareness which higher regard for human rights, spiritual freedom and also the rule associated with law will serve to advertise the very development as well as social balance which China seeks as well as to improve China's worldwide picture." This type of technique would take substantial diplomatic skills thinking about "China's weird concern the United States privately promotes regime alter as well as ‘separatists' in Taiwan, Tibet and Xinjiang".

The wires provide understanding of the actual every day business associated with diplomacy that's rarely owned by everyone, and it is fascinating to notice the quantity of work carried out nowadays on Uyghur problems. The significance of the actual role of the us as a monitor of Uyghur human rights problems within private discussions is made clear, and contrasts using its tactful open public stance. Employees of the Uyghur Individual Rights Task is actually well aware of the pressure the Chinese government exerts on Uyghur activists; still, the details associated with Chinese government pressure on it's alternatives is actually illustrative of the degree that Chinese language authorities make an effort to control contrary narratives. With more revelations to come from Wikileaks, issues more than Uyghurs may not get the headlines, however the wires have shed new gentle about the documentation associated with human rights conditions in the Uyghur area.

 

Wikileaks and the Uyghurs

by henry on Dec Twenty, 2010
Henryk Szadziewski, Supervisor, Uyghur Human Rights Project

If it had been actually in doubt, info obtained through the whistleblower website, Wikileaks, has confirmed Chinese language government fears over its continued control of the region it calls Xinjiang, which is also known as Eastern Turkestan. The actual leaked wires through U.Utes. diplomats demonstrate the extent that Chinese language government bodies attempt to persuade governments worldwide to consider its position upon problems affecting Uyghurs. The actual cables additionally display the actual United States' concerns as well as views regarding the ongoing repressive steps in the region.

The majority of lighting of Chinese language government stress are the cables pointing to Chinese language frustration, or even the specter of Chinese ire, over the release of Uyghur detainees within Guantánamo to 3rd countries. The Dec 29, 2008 cable television relates exactly how Chinese Assistant International Reverend Liu Jieyi fulfilled with the U.S. Ambassador in order to The far east to tone of voice Beijing's strong opposition of launch in order to any kind of nation apart from The far east, and that when the Ough.Utes. did certainly accede for this request it might "avoid harm to bilateral relations and to cooperation ‘in essential areas'". Furthermore, the Feb 2009 cable describes the way the Chinese Ambassador in order to Kyrgyzstan, Zhang Yannian, regarded the feasible discharge of Uyghur Guantánamo detainees as "an unfriendly behave towards us" along with a "slap in the face". That the Ough.S. government was firm in not releasing the detainees to The far east illustrates the extent of the politicized character from the Chinese judicial program. Genuine concerns more than terrorism are understandable, but in the actual Ough.Utes. government's observe the detainees would most likely encounter do-it-yourself torture and delivery if they came back to China

Chinese government stress regarding the actual Uyghur Guantánamo detainees wasn't only put on the Ough.S. federal government, but also to Brand new Zealand along with a number of European governments that were thinking about resettlement. Albania, Indonesia as well as Finland, in addition to European Union member says just about all have the symptoms of borne the actual impact associated with Chinese government disappointment. In the case of Indonesia, which was at first prepared to think about two Uyghurs on purely relief grounds, Uyghur Guantánamo instances had been much less preferable to other detainees due to the unwanted effects taking Uyghurs would have upon relations with China. A May Eight, 2009 cable applies how "German Ambassador Erina Schaefer documented that Germany experienced informed The far east from the U.Utes. request to simply accept a few Uighur detainees kept at Guantánamo coupled with already been consequently warned through The far east associated with ‘a heavy load on bilateral relations' in the event that Germany had been to accept any detainees".

The diplomatic wires also talk about the unrest in Urumchi, the actual regional funds, in July '09. A July Thirteen, '09 cable television talking about mass incidents in China states:

"Ethnic riots like those in Xinjiang July 5-7 and in Tibet in 03 of 2008 differ substantially within source as well as nature from bulk incidents, XXXXXXXXXXXX stressed to PolOff [Political Officer] on XXXXXXXXXXXX. Each present serious trouble for the actual Celebration, XXXXXXXXXXXX said, however the Celebration leadership wouldn't wait to spread out fireplace upon Uighurs or even Tibetans if they deemed it necessary to recover order. Bulk incidents present another type of risk, he said, as the leadership is ‘afraid' to fireplace on Han rioters with regard to anxiety about causing massive open public outrage that would turn against the Celebration."

This is a relaxing opinion, particularly when 1 considers the evidence presented in two reports released this season by the Uyghur Individual Privileges Task (UHRP) and Amnesty Worldwide which fine detail eyewitness accounts of the use of lethal reside fire towards Uyghur protestors in This summer '09. Additionally, the observation that fire would not be deployed against Han Chinese protestors offers resonances for the different approach used by Chinese security causes in Urumchi in order to Han Chinese language protests within Sept '09. Throughout those direct orders, after that Party Assistant, Wang Lequan, addressed demonstrators, who had demanded that he inform them about government responses in order to security concerns. An identical ask for to satisfy using the Celebration Assistant through Uyghur protesters in This summer was not met.

The actual wider consequences from the unrest additionally noticed a brief dialogue on the effect it would possess upon Iran-China relations, as well as on relationships along with Sydney following World Uyghur Congress Leader, Microsoft. Rebiya Kadeer, talked at the National Press Membership in Canberra in July '09. In the second option situation, china federal government "privately warn[ed] a significant Aussie bank that sponsors the National Push Club to make use of its influence to block the Kadeer speech there".

The United States' issues concerning the situation in the Uyghur area are available via within the wires. Inside a dialogue upon policy direction within Tibet, Ough.S. authorities explain that it will end up being impossible with regard to Chinese frontrunners to consider the much softer line "if they appear like doing so under worldwide pressure". The actual cable television out dated April Sixteen, 08, 30 days after the outbreak of unrest within Tibetan areas, additionally relayed the observation "that domestic stability continues to be leadership's top priority most of all, which means there'll ‘almost surely' end up being no rest of the present hard collection upon Tibet or in locations like Xinjiang." The information included in the cable additionally storage sheds gentle on the extreme sensitivity with which the Chinese federal government sights territorial integrity, and the possible drip over associated with unrest from Tibet.

The prospect associated with methods to stress within Tibet and Xinjiang as a result of civil society are discussed in a February Twenty-four, 08 cable television. Whilst recommending which China's financial success will increase it's resistance to democratic change, the actual cable additionally talks about exactly how Chinese language leaders begin to see the usefulness associated with "a restricted growth of civil society, such as improvements within the guideline of law along with a stronger part for authorized religions, NGOs, charities along with other actors in areas which bring about social stability and don't problem Communist Party rule." This is a notable alternation in thinking, that has observed Ough.S. officials market the notion which Chinese language economic improvement, as well as economic relationships with China brings about a steadily democratic culture; nevertheless, more faith seems to be put into the grassroots movement than one which begins from the top quantity of a Chinese language federal government. Nonetheless, the cable concludes that "[i]n places for example Tibet as well as Xinjiang, driving a car associated with separatism results in tighter limitations about the growth of municipal society." This method can be regarded as counter-productive by the official, that suggests that the actual Ough.Utes. federal government "should still express...serious issues more than Beijing's individual privileges record as well as attract China's developing consciousness that greater regard for human rights, spiritual freedom and the rule of law assists to promote the development and sociable stability which China seeks in addition to to improve China's worldwide picture." Such a strategy would consider substantial diplomatic abilities thinking about "China's weird fear the Usa privately encourages regime change as well as ‘separatists' within Taiwan, Tibet and Xinjiang".

The wires provide insight into the every day business associated with diplomacy that's hardly ever afforded to everyone, which is interesting to notice the amount of function done behind closed doors on Uyghur problems. The importance of the actual role of the United States like a keep track of associated with Uyghur individual rights problems in private conversations is made clear, as well as contrasts using its tactful open public position. Employees of the Uyghur Human Rights Task is well aware of pressure the Chinese government puts on Uyghur activists; nevertheless, the details associated with Chinese language government pressure on it's counterparts is illustrative from the degree that Chinese officials attempt to control contrary narratives. With increased facts in the future from Wikileaks, concerns over Uyghurs may not get the headlines, however the cables possess shed brand new light about the documentation associated with individual privileges conditions within the Uyghur region.

 

Search Engine Optimization And Article promotion Will Place Yourself on Page 1

Search engine marketing and marketing with articles are two of the strongest strategies that you can use in promoting your site and get the revenue and success that you need for your internet business. Those two everything has been around for a really very long time already nevertheless they still remain to be really effective. In reality, these have helped many people free themselves from your traditional means of money-generating options of society.

In this post, I will be showing the ways how it is possible to properly execute search engine optimization and marketing with articles for the betterment of one's business enterprise web site. Additionally, I will be also discussing the different points that you must consider when you are using these two internet marketing strategies to market your website and acquire customers. Even though marketing with articles and Search engine optimisation have been established for a long time already, you have to know that the trends and preferences as to how they are done are continually changing, and that's why you need to keep yourself up to date with these items through the help of Search engine marketing forum sites to enable you to quickly adjust and learn to make your strategies more effective.

In the past article marketing to different websites was once so simple yet the effects that they produce for web sites really was powerful. However, things have changed a whole lot today. Currently submitting exactly the same article to several websites is no longer a good idea because search engines have now changed to some huge extent in the manner they rank pages. They no more rank contents which are identical like they used to in the past. This is one of the best types of changes that occur in online marketing trends. This change has given birth to wide plethora of methods that online marketers are using today. Nearly all of web marketers now produce articles and distribute them in really popular article directories and wait for targeted traffic to make their pages. Be thought of as that most reliable Seo strategy that you can use. Aside from being effective, this provides favorable benefits frequently. A small problem using this strategy is how the caliber of traffic you will get using this defintely won't be so good if you do not do proper keyword research beforehand and use in-links. You first need to attend to these two things before you decide to submit your posts so that you won't end up losing large amounts of targeted prospects. Which means that you need to practice good levels of diligence if you want your advertising initiatives to function.

Other than articles, you can even use writing a blog, that is another really powerful form of internet marketing strategy today since it is highly favored by google and yahoo. On this technique, you are able to choose to create a single blog site that specifically targets your chosen market or else you can contribute to other weblogs that are labeled as experts in your niche.

Learn effective Vancouver search engine optimization techniques in the Vancouver SEO website.

Roofing Companies Vancouver BC

There are many things to take into account when looking for a new roofing contractor. Cost, experience, and also referrals are a couple of the things you'll likely be concerned about. Read on for even other great ideas.

• Finding a Roofers

Before buying roofing contractor, make sure you have a basic idea of the task that you need to have done. By no means is it necessary to be a specialist. If you have a new Roof Qualification, read it thoroughly to find the details about your active roof. Should you not have a Top Certificate, make reference to documents agreed upon during concluding to locate your Roof Inspection bed sheet. These documents should give you everything you need to learn about your roof. Ahead of contacting a roofing contractor, you ought to have a list of requirements and specifications to help you choose exactly who would work for your roof covering project. Make sure to write down each potential roof covering contractor's answers and check these against each other. If you can find any discrepancies, be sure to note this and take this into consideration when generating a final choice. There are no surefire ways to pick a roofing contractor, but if you take pay attention to to the info provided, your odds of a successful roofing project are usually greatly increased.

One of the best strategies to finding a roofing contractor is by word of mouth. Try wondering a friend or relative that has had roofer work done, and had been satisfied with the work. Get the name of the organization and their own contact data. If you have no word of mouth referrals, attempt first seeking in the mobile phone book an internet-based. A large advert or extravagant website is not necessarily a sign of the quality of work, but sometimes be a good tool for measuring how long and devotion they have put in their particular profession. Additionally, try finding current worksites and search at the covering work that may be done maybe in the process of becoming finished. If you are visually impressed, ask the property manager for your name from the roofing contractor along with their make contact with information.

• Research

When looking for a new roofing contractors, it is imperative to initial do your own background research. Acquire the best in the phone directory or on the web is a suitable destination to find a company, finding important information on these types of businesses will probably be found in other areas. Very first, check with spots like the Bbb, city, state, and region public records, as well as local licensing agencies. Ask your roofing contractor if they are an affiliate of any roofer associations. These precautions will mitigate your risks. In addition ask them what kinds of roofing they specialize in. In addition ask your own roofing contractor concerning any guarantees they offer on their own installed homes. Find out what safety measures they decide to use avoid injury done to other regions of the home through workers. Products such as gutters, house siding, and fireplaces are near the coast proximity and therefore susceptible to accidental damages.

Make certain all of this details are included in your written contract. Check if you need a roof covering permit and/or permission from your house owners association in advance. These entities will let you know who's responsible for getting these permits and authorizations. If it is the obligation of the roofing contractor, also have this included inside your contract. When it is your accountability, get stated permits as well as permissions collated using the estimated roofer project and possess it plainly posted or perhaps readily available.

• Certification and Recommendations

Roofing Companies are not required to be accredited in all declares. Contact nearby licensing organizations that govern general development contractors to get a list of specifications. Once you have attained the requirements, create a list of detailed questions to ask your own potential roofing contractor. This simple checklist should immediately help you to get rid of the skilled from the not qualified roofing companies. Qualified building contractors should be able to effortlessly answer questions or even tell you that they have to do even more research just before giving any definitive response.

Even if the roofing contractor offers all necessary licensing, you should ask to view pictures involving completed roofer jobs along with speak to happy clients. Have a very list of queries handy to inquire about recent clients, such as the nature of the career, timeliness, and total satisfaction. Make sure these are the latest clients and cross reference point if possible. In the matter of commercial roof covering, make sure that the actual roofing contractor is actually bonded. Examining these personal references is another additional measure of protection to limit the list associated with potential covering contractors.

Search engine optimization Through Article marketing

Articles may be an extremely powerful type of Search engine optimization for your company websites. Quality written articles are able to improve your websites SERP and add quality for your company website. Writing informative keyword rich articles is important in gaining new backlinks for a business website. Articles can and may be written on topics which are unique in your business or industry. The articles can discuss a multitude of issues and ideas with your industry. Articles that provide your reader using a resource will always be probably the most popular and many likely forms of articles which will cause backlinks to your website.

Focus your posts on the potential readers or customers. Seo articles should address real questions which can be asked by current or best buyers. Each article you're writing in your case company includes detailed analysis and Search engine optimization keywords that will help associate your website using the content seen in your website. Focus your posts on around 3 keywords and stray from their store. Consistency is vital when writing Seo articles. Should you be authoring Vancouver Seo be sure your continue to come up with information highly relevant to the keyword.

Give all of your Search engine optimization Articles an engaging Title which will persuade folks to read and bookmark your posts. Ideally, the articles you are writing find yourself as links from other websites that are much like yours. This alone might help increase the power of each link and can assist your SERP. Make sure you end each article which has a keyword anchored link (see Easy Small Business Search engine optimization). This link will help to increase your rankings in the search engines and other major search engines for your keyword coupled to the link. Submit the articles to a submitted article directory and Voila! Before you know it, your internet site may be for the first page of Google.

Appreciate your reading. Can't wait to see your Seo articles!

Vancouver Seo Agency Aims For Google Places With Absolute Achievement

When people type in research online term looking for a business of their local area, they will find that Google places and Google maps is showing listings of local businesses. It is rather eminent to enable them to be optimized and for auction on this first page if they desire to generate business. Vancouver SEO companies need to be educated in this area for their clients.

There will be a lot of new Vancouver SEO companies establishing, simply because the importance is there. Finding a search engine firm which includes the client's interest at heart could be tedious. The number of keywords do they optimize for? What are the keywords and the corresponding amount of searches? Do they know how to optimize for Google places? And the like. Search engine optimization may be the business of landing at the very top and Maxim Edge can get you there.

"My wife i started our Vancouver SEO company by accident. We've learned with the school of hard knocks and experimentation how to use the web to advertise any business. We began with the website, then your competition, and then of course building quality back-links to push a web site up inside rankings. It isn't really pushing a control button and watching what are the results type of business. It will take a lot of effort, a great deal of research and lots of commitment. We work hard for our clients so we are very happy with a high retention rate." Randy Neale says.

For additional information about Michael, a Vancouver Seo agency, please visit their website today at seo4vancouver.com

The Uyghurs from Eastern Turkistan

In the middle of the desert landscapes of Taklamakan, in the north-west part of China, the land of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region is the least populated land while it covers close to a sixth with the country's area. Getting resisted while in centuries the chinese domination, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, or Old East Turkestan, fell within the Chinese Han control in 1949. From then, its population is mainly Uyghur People and Turkic - speaking System.

Muslim especially, the Uyghurs have a deep religious identification that, in particular, enabled them to protect a solid big difference in opposition to the Chinese enemy. Without a doubt, the Uyghur Empire of Mongolia knew a great civilization, until its absorption by the Mongolian Empire in the XIIIth century.

During their own background, the Uyghur People successively adopted Shamanism, Manicheism, Buddhism and the Nestorianism before finally changing to Islam when the Arab conquerors beat the Chinese in year 751 BC., thus beginning the way to the Islamization of the complete Central Asia.

Under the influence of the religions which they taken on, Uyghur People used successively, and sometimes in a competing way, a large number of written forms (turco-runic, brahmi, tokharien, soghdien) before developing their own unique graphic system.

The entrance of Islam was a great change because it was supported by the absorption of the Uyghur land in the enormous Turco-Mongolian and Muslim Kingdom. Thus, the descendants of Genghis Khan slowly replaced their writing by a Arabo-Persan alphabet, still used at present.

If their writing, their own language and their religion mark a real difference with the culture of Chinese Han, the Uyghurs also are different from their characteristic, so aspect of Central Asia's people. A shiny skin, eyes representing a whole pallet of colors, from black to deep blue, features pointing out to the Mongolian, Turkish or Uzbek roots of these men and these women.

For a few years, China has included the proper identity of these remote people, although they represent only nine million people - a little for this specific large region. So, the Uyghurs are now part of the 56 ethnic minority groups having been well known in an official way by the People's Republic of China.

This particular statute allows these people a few privileges in a land where their big difference is very often repressed. Therefore, Uyghur families escape the "single child policy" and their language is accepted as the second official language in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

The integration of the Uyghurs and their culture in the People's Republic of China, however, looks really illusory. The presence of natural resources in Xinjiang, and its area with nations recognized as sensitive, clearly urged the government to increase the sinicization of this area. Million of Han thus came to settle in this new Chinese eldorado, monopolizing the more significant responsibility work opportunities.

In response to this true will to assimilate the Uyghur people into the Chinese culture, an independent party like East Turkistan Islamic Movement(ETIM) was born in the early 1990.

Saying more flexibility, but mainly the acceptance of their true identity, this movement was seriously repressed by the power authorities in area Xinjiang.

The events of September 11, 2001, were the perfect occasion for the Chinese government to justify true reprisals: they declared the "Uyghur freedom fighters" as dangerous terrorists linked to Al Quaida because of their Muslim origins and their proximity with Pakistan and Afghanistan... However, the terrible repression which followed did not calm down the anger. The Uyghur population continues today to proudly keep up their identity and their traditions , though they become a minority on their own land.

For more information and facts about Uyghur people, you can visit a Uyghur website called Uyghur News at http://www.uyghurnews.com